I had listened to the two main versions of the song, "All along the watchtower" by Bob Dylan and the Jimi Hendrix Experience and to be honest I preferred the Bob Dylan. It starts off with soothing acoustics and a flute which really relaxes you. This version struck the image in my head that it is the type of song you listen to while on a dusty, Texan desert road. It had a calming and soothing element to it. Bob Dylan uses a lot of relaxing instruments like the flute to create the sense of ease about his music. I didn't really understand what the lyrics were blabbing on about but they were calm and not at all upbeat. The vibes from the song are very warming and make a good atmosphere if your sitting somewhere alone away from everyone. The recorders in the background of the song can sometimes get too high pitched and it spoils the song as a whole sometimes.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience version is nothing like the original. It starts with heavy drum beats and what seems to me, a person screaming! After that begininng bit, the vocals and the song as a whole gets much better. The instruments are very heavy in this version. The chorus is very heavy metal type and its ruins the song. when the vocals are not in the song about 2 and a half minutes in, the music changes from being quite soft to very heavy, loud and upbeat. It really doesn't set a good vibe like the original does.
As a result of what the Jimi Hendrix Experience does to the vibe of the song, I conclude that I definitely prefer the Bob Dylan version of the song.
